Mauricio Ruffy looked very focused during the entire pre-fight build-up for UFC 325. He looked like a fighter who desperately needed a victory to turn around his career. And on the night of the event against Rafael Fiziev, Ruffy delivered by knocking out Fiziev at the end of round 2. But the latest revelations of pre-fight complications have surely added more respect to his name.

‘One Shot’ was coming off a loss against Benoit Saint Denis. And to turn that around, Ruffy left no stone unturned in his preparation for the fight against Fiziev. He even joined Alexander Volkanovski‘s team to polish his skills. And those trainings reflected on his performance as Ruffy defeated Fiziev via second-round TKO at UFC 325. But what’s more interesting was the Brazilian’s serious health complications ahead of the fight.

Alexander Volkanovski reveals Mauricio Ruffy’s health issues

“You know what I will tell you something… We are lucky that Ruffy even turned up this week. If you knew the half the stuff that he went through, he had influenza like legit Influenza A at the start of the week, like crazy fever,” said Volkanovski during the UFC 325 post-fight press conference.

He added: “I didn’t even think he would be able to do the wake-up, so I was like, ‘Oh man.’ So we’ve got to mentally try and get him through that, and then he had some troubles even today, big troubles today, and could have moved. But just told him that he’s got to mentally get himself in there, got himself around it, and then was able to go and do what he does against someone like Rafael. Incredible man, like a very, very a lot of respect for him to just even turn up tonight.”

Top Stories

Dana White’s Nightmare Continues as UFC 325 ‘Robbery’ and Paramount+ Issues Anger Fans

UFC 325 Payouts: How Much Will Alexander Volkanovski, Diego Lopes, and Others Earn

UFC Star Gives Classy Response to Inappropriate Question About Ian Garry’s Family Amid Race to Fight Islam Makhachev

UFC 325 Fans Turn On Mauricio Ruffy as Conor McGregor Receives New Contender for White House Fight

Khamzat Chimaev Puts Jon Jones’ UFC White House Dream at Risk With Perfectly Timed ‘Chama’ Callout

With a win over Rafael Fiziev, Mauricio Ruffy will surely be regarded as one of the promising stars in the UFC lightweight division. Meanwhile, Fiziev’s mixed run of form continues as he now stands on a 1-4 record in his last five UFC fights.

Amid that, Ruffy will now climb up the lightweight rankings. With that, he might also have the opportunity to fight some of the big names in the division. And, as it seems, he has a few names on his mind.

Mauricio Ruffy calls out Conor McGregor and Paddy Pimblett

Mauricio Ruffy is a striking-heavy fighter who has three out of his four UFC wins via knockouts. And considering his fighting style, he has put out the names of who he wants next.

“Hunter [Campbell], Dana White, you see me fight and know my style. How about Conor McGregor or Paddy Pimblett? Let me put on a show,” said Ruffy during UFC 324 post-fight interview with Daniel Cormier.

While Conor McGregor is an established name in the UFC community, Paddy Pimblett is a rising star. Ruffy believes a matchup against either McGregor or Pimblett would be loved by the spectators. But there’s a big cloud of uncertainty in it.

Pimblett recently fought Justin Gaethje for the interim lightweight title. Although the Scouser lost the bout, it will be interesting to see if he would love to face a prospect like Ruffy.

As for McGregor, after almost five years of absence, he is training to make his UFC return. And considering his stature and popularity, it is also very unlikely that the promotion would book ‘The Notorious’ as Ruffy’s next opponent. On that note, it will be interesting to see who the Brazilian fights next. Do let us know your thoughts in the comments below!